Timezone Greetings
by transientvision
Summary: Internet friends AU. Alfred and Kiku are about to meet each other in real life for the first time, since before that the closest thing they had to seeing each other were video calls through Skype. Ameripan.
1. Sunday I

**hello everyone! ive been planning this fic for a while now uwu. i was inspired by s-sully's drawing here: [ post/81780676617/timezone-greetings] please give it a look sometime!**

**also dont take this seriously please think of it as some cheesy romcom (though i dont think there will be any actual funny moments since my humor is terrible)**

* * *

Alfred yawned as exited the bathroom and entered his room. Running a hand through his blonde hair, he switched on his laptop. He checked the time on the monitor—7:03 AM.

Usually he would wake up much later, but he promised Kiku that he would call.

Arthur popped his head in Alfred's doorway as he opened Skype. "Bloody hell," he said, wearing his Union Jack apron and the laundry basket in his hands. "You being awake this early on a weekend, it's a miracle." he shook his head in disbelief.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Not now, Dad, I gotta call someone."

His father left, muttering something about "teenage boys" and "ungrateful sons". Alfred didn't mind, because Kiku's image had already appeared on his screen.

"Kiku! Hey!" cried Alfred. "What's up?"

"Hello. I'm doing fine," The room Kiku was in was dim, and Alfred could see his face only by his computer's light. "Although school has been hectic, seeing as the year is ending in a few days."

"Woah, it's dark in there!" said Alfred. "What time is it in Tokyo, man?"

"Only eight in the evening," Kiku replied. "I have classes tomorrow, so I have to go to sleep in a few hours."

"What, really?" asked Alfred. "And I was going to ask if we could play a game or something..."

"I'm sorry," said Kiku. "But please understand. We're having our exams now. I'm lucky my parents even allowed me on my computer. What time is it there?"

"Seven AM," said Alfred. "I can't believe I woke up this early. And it's Sunday!"

Kiku chuckled. "I'm sorry for making you get up so early."

Alfred shook his head. "Nah, man, it's fine!" he said. "I love talking to you, dude. You're, like, my best friend. Actually, wait, yeah, you _are_ my best friend."

Kiku laughed again, covering his mouth with one hand. Alfred blushed slighty—_gosh he's so cute when he laughs goddamn_

"So, uh," said Alfred. "Are you excited for Saturday?"

"For the trip?" the Japanese boy nodded. "I've already finished packing my things."

"What, really?" said Alfred. "Man! You really do prepare for everything, don't cha?"

Now it was Kiku's turn to blush. "It's only next Saturday," he said. "By the way, I'm thinking of bringing some candy for you. Hold on, I'll get them right now." He got up and left.

As Kiku went to get the candy, Alfred checked his calendar. Encircled several times in red marker was March 8, surrounded by smiley faces and a big "KIKU'S COMING!" with a smaller "hell yeah hell yeah alright!"

The blond smiled to himself. Finally, after three years, he's going to meet Kiku for the first time! In _real life_!

When their parents had agreed to the meeting two months ago, Alfred could barely contain his excitement. He had jumped up and down like three year-old and hugged his dad again and again saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

"Alfred-kun? Are you there?" he reverted his attention back to his laptop.

"I told you, man," said Alfred. "Only my dad calls me Alfred. Just call me Al."

Kiku held a pink packet in one hand and a green one in the other. "Would you like the strawberry-flavored one or the apple?"

"Hmmm..." Alfred rubbed his chin. This was clearly a very important decision he had to make. "I dunno, which one tastes better?"

"Personally, I like the strawberry," said Kiku. "The apple one is sour."

"Okay then, strawberry it is!" said Alfred.

"All right," Kiku smiled and put away the candy. "How is your break so far?"

"It's fine, I guess," Alfred scratched the back of his head. "But it's too boring! Kiku, you better hurry and get your ass here already!"

Kiku's smile brightened. "Okay, okay." A knock was heard from Kiku's room, and his bedroom door opened, allowing light to enter. Kiku's head turned to the door, and a woman said something to him in Japanese, to which he nodded.

He turned back to his screen. "That was my mother," he said. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now."

"Aw, really?" Alfred pouted. "Hm, okay then. Bye, Kiku! Tell me when your exams are over, okay?"

"Of course," Kiku gave him a little wave—so cute! Alfred thought. "Goodbye, Alfred-kun." the video call ended.

Alfred closed Skype and leaned back in his chair. He stretched his arms and yawned. There was a knock on his door.

"Al?" Matthew came in. "Dad says breakfast is ready."

"Alright, but who cooked?" asked Alfred. "You or that sorry excuse for a chef?"

Matthew sighed. "I made pancakes."

The blond perked up. "Did you say pancakes?" he said. "I'm on my way!"

* * *

As Kiku had his chat with Alfred, his mother came in, letting light from the hallway enter the dark room.

"Kiku, dinner is ready," she said.

"Yes, mother, I'll be there in a second."

"And why is it so dark in here?" she asked. "You know that reading in the dark could worsen your eyesight!"

"I wasn't reading, Mother," said Kiku. "My friend and I were just talking."

"Alright." said his mother. "But come down in a bit, okay?" Kiku nodded. He shut down his computer and grabbed the candy he'd set aside earlier. The young man took out his suitcase and carefully tucked in the pink packet.

He exited his room and went downstairs, all the while thinking of his upcoming trip to New York. He reached the dining room, where seated at the table was his family. His father sat at the head and his mother at the other end, while his two younger brothers and sister sat at the sides. At the center of the table was the warm meal, big enough for a family of six.

"There you are, Kiku!" exclaimed his younger brother. "What took you so long? Dad wouldn't let me eat until everyone was here and I'm hungry!"

"Stop hounding your brother, Yong Soo," chided his father. The thirteen year-old paid no mind and instead focused on getting as much food as he can on his plate.

Kiku took a seat. "Sorry, I was doing something."

"It's alright, Kiku," said his father. "Are you ready for your exam tomorrow? You know math is a difficult subject, aru."

"Yes, Father."

"I studied for the exam tomorrow too!" cried Yong Soo. His other brother, Tao, sighed.

His father smiled. "What about you, Tao? Mei?" Tao simply nodded while Mei gave an enthusiastic "Yes, Dad!"

"Have you finished packing for America, Kiku?" his mother asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I just finished a while ago, after studying."

"Hey, how come Kiku gets to go to New York?" asked Yong Soo. "I want to go to other countries too!"

"Kiku is going so that he can meet his friend," said his father. "He's old enough to go alone, and we've already made arrangements for him to stay at his friend's house so there's no need to stay at a hotel. Besides, it would be a nice reward for him, don't you think? Since he's so studious and hardworking all the time."

"You've talked to the boy's father already, haven't you, Yao?" his mother asked his father.

"Yes," Yao nodded. "Kiku helped me with my English. He says they would be more than happy to have him in their home."

"Okay, that's good," said his mother. "What was that boy's name again?"

"Alfred, right?" said Tao. "Seriously, Mom, how could you forget? Kiku talks about him, like, all the time." at this the eldest brother turned a deep red.

"Your friends have funny names," said Yong Soo.

Tao shrugged. "Well, he's American, after all."

"Ooh, take lots of pictures when you're there, okay?" said Mei. "And then show all of them to me when you're done! Don't forget souvenirs either!"

"Don't forget about me!" said Yong Soo. "Bring home some kimchi for me!"

Yao sighed. "He's going to New York, Soo. Not Korea."

"I'll get you something nice, Soo." said Kiku. He turned to Tao and Mei. "I'll buy souvenirs for you guys too, and I'll bring a camera everywhere so I can take those pictures for you, Mei."

Mei flashed a big grin and thanked her brother. Even Tao looked slightly grateful as he gave Kiku a small smile.

Kiku smiled back. The four siblings didn't always get along, but he cared about them nonetheless. Of course he would want to share what may be the best week of his life with his family.

Only a few more days to go until he'd meet Alfred.

* * *

**and that's the first chapter! thank you so much for reading this, guys! i have about 11 chapters overall planned for this story. i hope you'll stick with me to the end! :)**


	2. Friday I

**btw, i'll be inserting my philippines oc, andres/andy, in here. he won't be playing a big part, though, just one of the people who live in alfred's building along with the other countries. i just couldn't forget about my dear beloved country, haha;;**

* * *

Matthew's morning started with an unusual sight: Alfred cleaning his own room.

He closed his brother's bedroom door as quietly as possible, as Alfred was so consumed in cleaning that he didn't notice he was there. No surprise there. Matthew entered the kitchen where Arthur was sipping his tea and tapped his shoulder.

"Dad," he said. "Al's cleaning his room."

Arthur's brows shot up and he choked on his tea, spilling it on his once clean shirt. "Good Lord," he muttered. "But... why?"

Matthew shrugged. "Maybe he's looking for something? Or..." he said. "His friend is coming tomorrow, right?"

"Oh, yes, that," Arthur grabbed a tissues and tried to dry his shirt. "Great, now I have to change... Kiku will be using his room, while Alfred will sleep on the couch, won't he?"

"Yeah, I think that's what he said," said Matthew. "But I didn't really expect him to clean his room him_self_... maybe ask one of us to do it or something."

The father and son cracked open Alfred's door just enough for them to see, and sure enough, the bespectacled blonde was busying himself by arranging the comic books on his shelf by volume.

He turned around and finally noticed Matthew and Arthur. "Hey, guys!" he said. "Uh, whatcha doing there?"

Arthur opened the door wider. "We were... we were simply just..." he struggled to find the right word. "... observing. Yes."

Alfred blinked. "Huh?"

"Just..." said Arthur. "Oh, confound it, never mind." he left.

Alfred turned to Matthew. "So, wanna help me arrange my entire _Batman_ collection?"

Matthew shook his head and left too.

* * *

Kiku stepped out of the car. The airport was bustling with life, people moving around with suitcases trailing behind them and others waiting for friends to arrive.

"Here you go," Yao heaved his son's heavy suitcase out of the trunk and set it beside him. Kiku muttered his thanks.

"Now, you still have some time before your flight," Yao put his hand on Kiku's shoulder. "I want you to know that I'm always so proud of you."

"Ugh, Dad, stop," said Yong Soo. "You're acting like he's going away for college. He'll be gone for just a week!"

"I know, but... he's never been away from home this long before..."

"Yes, he has," said Tao. "He stayed at Grandpa's for two weeks that one time."

"I'm sure Dad meant something different," said Mei.

"Kiku!" said his mother. "Don't forget to take care of yourself, okay? Brush your teeth every night and remember to change your underpants—"

Kiku's cheeks turned red. "M-M-Mother!"

Yong Soo hugged (attacked) his oldest brother fiercely, almost tackling him down to the floor. "I'm gonna miss you, bro!" Kiku, not knowing what to do, awkwardly patted his brother's back.

Once Yong Soo released him, Mei shoved him towards the entrance. "Now go!" she said. "You'll be late for your flight!"

"But—" he started. "I still have time—"

"You want to be early, don't you?" she said. Kiku sighed. Mei was so fussy all the time!

He turned to see his family waving at him. The young man sighed again and waved back.

* * *

"Where do you think you're going, young man?"

Alfred stopped in his tracks and faced his father.

"...7-Eleven?" he said.

"Why?" Arthur demanded.

"We're all out of ice cream," said Alfred. "We can't be out of ice cream when Kiku's coming tomorrow!" he swung open the door and left.

"Alfred, wait!" Arthur called out, and the door closed shut.

Alfred went into the hall and entered the elevator. The doors opened a few floors down revealing his friend, Andres.

"'Sup, Andy!" he greeted as the boy came in the elevator.

"Hi, Alfred." Andres replied.

"So, where're you going?" Alfred asked.

"7-Eleven. We ran out of milk."

"Sweet! I'm going there too!" said Alfred. "I gotta buy some ice cream."

"_Hay naku_," Andres shook his head. "Sweets again?"

"Haha..." Alfred laughed. "Hey, why don't we go together?"

"Sure, okay." the two heard the yelling of Lovino Vargas as soon as the elevator doors opened into the lobby.

"You _dumbass_!" he screeched. "How could you just _forget_ something you were fucking _hold_ing there? Now we have to go back!"

"Heheh, sorry, Lovi!" replied Antonio, rubbing the back of his head. "Must've slipped my mind, whoops!"

"What'd you forget?" Alfred asked.

"My stupid boyfriend here forgot the stuff we bought at the convenience store," Lovino said through gritted teeth.

"You mean 7-Eleven?" said Andres. Antonio nodded. "You know, we were going there too. Want to come?"

Antonio turned to Lovino. "Ooh, Lovi, can we go with them? Please? It'll be more fun that way!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

They proceeded to walk to the convenience store, making small talk and passing by Ludwig from 14B walking his dog on the way. The group entered the store, each going off in different ways to fulfill their needs.

On his way to get the ice cream, Alfred bumped into Francis, his neighbor and Arthur's arch nemesis. Boy, he was running into a lot of his neighbors today.

"Oh! Alfred, dear boy, it's you!" said Francis. "What are you doing here? Doing some shopping, hm?"

"Yeah," said Alfred. "I gotta get some stuff 'cause my friend from Japan's coming over tomorrow and all, y'know. Hey, do you know which ice cream flavor I should buy? Kiku never really told me his favorite."

Francis rubbed his chin. "Well, vanilla's quite the safe choice, don't you think?"

"I guess you're right," Alfred put vanilla ice cream in his basket. "But I'm getting cookies and cream and rocky road just in case."

The older man laughed. "All right, then!" he said. "By the way, I haven't seen you and your brother in some time, so tell your father to invite me to dinner sometime," he made his way to the exit. "And tell Matthew to cook or I'm not coming! _Au revoir_, Alfred!"

Alfred waved goodbye and paid for the ice cream.

* * *

Kiku shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was sitting by the aisle, and his seatmate was smelly, snoring middle-aged man badly in need of a good haircut.

Sighing, he checked his watch. Still had about twelve hours to go before the plane reached New York.

He brought out a book, careful to not let anyone notice. The hardcover was actually manga in disguise; Kiku had made the special book jacket for it himself. The Japanese translation of _Harry Potter_ looked more respectable than his favorite volume of _Neon Genesis Evangelion_, after all—if he were caught as an anime fan in public, he would die of embarassment.

A few pages in, and Kiku felt his seat being kicked by the person seated behind him. It was a common occurrence when he would sit up front in the car and Yong Soo in the back, but it still annoyed him. He counted to ten and took a deep breath before facing the person. It was a child, about ten years old, and he immediately stopped kicking the moment Kiku turned to him. He looked back at the older boy with an innocent smile, completely ignorant of his act of crime.

"Excuse me," said Kiku. "But would you please stop kicking my seat?"

"I'm not kicking anything," the kid said sweetly.

Kiku turned to the woman beside him, most probably the child's father. He shrugged and said, "Kids, what can you do about them?"

He stared at him and his vermin spawn before returning to his manga.

It was at that moment his sleeping seatmate leaned his head on Kiku's shoulder, drool rolling down his chin. Kiku grimaced in disgust.

It was going to be a long flight.

* * *

Arthur let out a heavy sigh as he entered the living room, finding a mess. "What in the world are you doing now, lad?"

Alfred turned to him, a black permanent marker in his hand. "Making a banner," he shrugged.

"For Kiki?" Arthur examined the long piece of paper Alfred was working on.

"Ki_ku_," Alfred corrected. He was in the middle of writing "WELCOME TO NYC, KIKU!" in huge letters. "Gosh, Dad."

"My apologies," said Arthur. "I assume those balloons in the corner are your doing as well?"

"Yup!" Alfred replied. "I bought them a while ago. I got a cake too! It's in the fridge."

Arthur shook his head. "It's not wise to keep spending your money on silly things like this, Alfred."

"I know, Dad, but..." Alfred bit his lower lip. "But wouldn't Kiku be happier if he saw all these stuff here? He would think that we were really looking forward to him coming and stuff!"

"Fine," said Arthur. "But you can just bake a cake yourself next time, you know. I could even help you out if want."

Alfred made a face. "I'll just ask Mattie."

Arthur pouted. "What's wrong with my culinary skills?"

"Nothing, Dad, I think they're great," said Alfred, his voice laced with sarcasm. "I just think I should spend a little more time with Matt, that's all."

His father gave him a grateful smile. "Why, thank you, Alfred!" he left the living room and went on his merry way. Alfred groaned once he left the room.

* * *

**alfred and kiku are going to meet in the next chapter! please leave a review if you can uwu**

**_Hay naku_ (filipino) - To be honest, not really sure what this means in English, exactly... I guess a loose translation would be along the lines of "good grief"?**

**_Au revoir_ (french) - Goodbye**


End file.
